Education other than at School (EOTAS)
The term ‘EOTAS’ covers all forms of education otherwise than at school including home or hospital tuition for pupils unable to attend school through illness or disability, pupils educated at home (because parents choose this method of education for their children), Alternative Education Provision (AEP) for School Age Mothers (SAMs) and AEP for young people of compulsory school age who cannot adjust to or cope with mainstream schooling. Some EOTAS provision may be used for pupils who are in mainstream school but need to go out of school for extra help with behavioural problems for example, sometimes for a term or two, or for a number of days per week.
Should a child need some form of EOTAS, the school may suggest a suitable placement. Alternatively, parents can contact their local Education and Library Board to discuss the options available for their child.
Article 45 (1) of the Education and Libraries (NI) Order 1986 requires that the parent of every child of compulsory school age should ensure they receive efficient full-time education suitable to age, ability and aptitude to any special education needs, either by regular attendance at school or otherwise. Parents can choose to home educate.
The Education and Library Boards will be aware of pupils who have been registered with a school and subsequently withdrawn from school to be educated at home. Officers in the Boards’ Education Welfare Service will monitor the quality of home provision and provide general guidance on appropriate materials and exam types through initial and annual home visits.
The Department’s Promoting and Sustaining Good Behaviour: Discipline Strategy for Schools set out the provision/expansion of worthwhile alternatives to mainstream schooling for disaffected pupils, many of them in their final 1 or 2 years of compulsory education.
A number of alternative education projects catering for such pupils already exist in both the statutory and voluntary sectors, but there is a need to develop an agreed set of standards for the operation and /or expansion of such provision.
With this in mind, the Department is currently undertaking a Review of AEP. Draft proposals on a way forward will go out to consultation in 2009.
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